A North Korean singer said to be Kim Jong-Un’s ex-girlfriend and reported to have been executed by firing squad last year has appeared on state television, apparently alive and well.
Hyon Song-Wol was shown on state television delivering a speech at a national art workers rally in Pyongyang on Friday.
The singer was reported to have been caught up in palace intrigue last summer having incurred the displeasure of Ri Sol-ju, Mr Kim’s wife.
The 31-year-old North Korean leader and the performer were said to have been teenage lovers but had been forced to break up their relationship by Kim Jong-il, the deceased Dear Leader.
Then in August, Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper with close links to that country’s intelligence services, reported that Hyon and eleven other well-known performers had been caught making a sex tape and executed.
But on television this week, Hyon expressed gratitude for Mr Kim’s leadership and pledged to work harder to “stoke up the flame for art and creative work”.
The reappearance of Hyon - perhaps best known for her hit song Excellent Horse-like Lady - came after months of speculation about whether or not she was alive.
“They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on,” sources reportedly said at the time.
South Korea’s spy chief Nam Jae-Joon added weight to the reports when he said in October that he was “aware” of the alleged execution.
“We are aware of the execution of some 10 people associated with the Unhasu Orchestra”, two lawmakers quoted Mr Nam as saying at a closed door parliamentary session, according to Yonhap news agency.
It was also reported that other bands that were part of the “new wave” of music ushered in by Mr Kim’s succession to the leadership had before forced to witness the execution as a salutory lesson.
Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s best selling daily, joined in the reporting, claiming the rare execution of state performers had been ordered to prevent rumours spreading about the supposedly decadent lifestyle of Ms Ri, North Korea’s first lady, while she was an entertainer.
North Korea angrily denied the reports, calling them an “unpardonable” crime.
The North’s state news agency KCNA said the reports were the work of “psychopaths” and “confrontation maniacs” in the South Korean government and media.
“This is an unpardonable, hideous provocation hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership,” a KCNA commentary said.
In an apparent attempt to prove the rumours untrue, North Korean radio in October aired a performance by the Unhasu orchestra but the lack of pictures of the singer until last week reports of her death had continued to dog the Pyongyang regime.
Edited by Hannah Strange
